The Girl who Danced on Fire and Brimstone
by MissLizzieLee
Summary: Meet Emily-Rose Andrews. She's a hunter, a fighter, a force to be reckoned with. And then she meets Ben Braeden, the boy with the golden smile who's determined to melt every inch of her frosty nature. WARNING: Possible triggers due to child abuse.
1. Chapter 1

"Fuck off you shitbag," Em spat, shoving the burly senior who'd just decided it was a good idea to sneak behind her while she was getting a drink from the shiny new water fountains at her shiny new school in Battle Creek. All in all, she hated it there. Well, no more than she hated it in Little Rock but... Hey, it would do. At least she'd be mixed in with boys too. Although that in itself could be a challenge.

Something inside her held that spark of hope that by moving here, things might be just a little bit better. That her dad might lighten up, that she'd wake up from the nightmare that was the first seventeen years of her life.

...It was a nice thought, anyways.

Life had never been easy for Em. Never. Any pleasant memories she may have had were generally blocked out by the searing pain of her father's brutal beatings. A kick to the stomach for a broken glass. 20 solid punches for leaving her toothbrush on the sink. ...The unspeakable for being seen with a boy her age, for being seen on a date.  
>And now this girl with hair dyed raven black, cropped short and choppy, with pale skin, cold hazel eyes and peircings which stood out on her angular face stalked the halls of Battle Creek high school, looking feral and ready to pounce at a moment's notice. It was hard to tell if she was a fighter or a runner, but one thing was certain; Em Andrews was a force to be reckoned with.<p>

It didn't take long for the girl to find her homeroom class. Mr. Becker. It also didn't help the impression she was making that she was ten minutes late. Muttering a raspy apology under her breath she took a seat and glanced around the room, as if she were analyzing every single person who surrounded her. The blonde girl in the front row had a nervous habit of chewing on her fingernails. The chubby boy beside her with glasses was obviously stoned off his ass. There was someone too, who wouldn't stop smiling.

It was strange. He smiled so much, seemed so kind that immediately Em didn't want to trust him. Most of the time that meant he wanted something, wanted her to trust him just so he could manipulate her, use her trust against her. Hell no, that wasn't going to happen again. No way was that going to happen again. And then, he smiled in her direction.

That was a smile that could probably melt frozen butter. Em wasn't frozen butter. She was the very definition of frost. Her expression remained stony and cold. He almost seemed like a fluffy puppy, to be honest. Warm, dark brown curls, big brown eyes, a friendly smile and innocent face. Mystery boy waved to her. She didn't wave back. Oddly enough he didn't seem to disappointed. He just sort of shrugged and gave her one last shining smile before turning to talk to what she assumed was his posse. Oh great, she thought. A groupie boy. I don't need this.

That boy kept smiling at her all through homeroom. And she was unlucky enough in her mind to have him in her first period class. Math. With a groan Em kept her head down, not even attempting to listen for role call. She didn't really care at this point. All she was focused on was getting through the day in one piece without getting detention and hopefully being spared at home today. No such luck. The friendly boy turned to her, that smile ever present. "Hey, you're new, right?" he asked. "I'm Ben. Ben Braeden. Welcome to Battle Creek."

"Oh um... Thanks, I guess," was Em's cold reply. Before Ben could say anything more, the teacher was calling her to the front of the class.

"Emily-Rose? Could you please come here and let me introduce you?"

Em hesitated, eyes fixed on her desk. After a moment of silence she hauled herself up and stalked to the front of the class.

"Class, this is Emily-Rose Andrews. She's a new student here. Is there anything you'd like to tell us about yourself?"

She fixed everyone with a cold glare. "No." Her boots thudded softly against the linoleum floors as she made her way back to her seat.

It was going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

The rest of the day flew by like a dream. Like some sort of whirlwind filled with idiotic highschoolers and lessons that droned on and dirty looks. A school lunch that she didn't even care to pick at; Fish sticks and mac n' cheese. It just smelled disgusting to her, to be completely honest.

Em's last class of the day was AP History. It just so happened that their regular teacher was sick, and so Mrs. McFague was subbing. The woman was aging and aging fast, with yellow-white hair that was permed to utter perfection, thick glasses with a pearl chain and stuffy looking suits that smelled of mothballs and old lady perfume. When she walked her heels were like firecrackers on the linoleum floors and she had this superior air about her. All in all, Em hated her from one look.

It didn't take long for role-call to commence. Mrs. McFague had this squawking, sort of warbling voice that was nails on a chalkboard to almost everyone in the room. Sure enough on the list was none other than Ben freaking Braeden.

Oh, that was just _peachy. _

Ben was right next to her. She got called up to the front of the class for the ninth time that day, and was called _Emily-Rose _for the ninth time that day. She cringed, sometimes visibly, every time someone called her Emily, let alone Emily-Rose. It made her skin crawl, made her stomach churn uncomfortably.

"...You know what?" Em finally snapped, after getting an additude from Mrs. McFague about not telling anything about herself. "I'm not going to say a damn thing about myself because there's nothing to tell. You want some bullshit sob story? You're not gonna get it from me. I don't really care what the hell you want me to say! So just fuck off, would you ya' old crone?" Everyone watched with wide eyes when she plucked a pen from the cup on her desk and snapped in in half.

"Oh, and by the way," she said much more quietly, her voice almost sickeningly sweet, peppered with her southern accent. "It's Em. Not Emily-Rose. Now have a nice fucking day."

From that moment on Ben Braeden was pretty sure he was in love.


	3. Chapter 3

"Hey, Em?" Ben called out over the roar of highschoolers doing everything they could to leave as soon as possible. She hadn't been in homeroom and he'd been searching everywhere for her. Oddly enough, despite her striking appearance she was pretty damn good at blending in if she wanted to. He'd slipped past her at least ten times and he hadn't even noticed. Maybe it was because she was so small, because usually he was spot on when it came to finding someone specific in the constantly swirling sea of classmates.

Em screeched to a hault. She turned to the boy behind her, who practically loomed over her. At least that's what it seemed like to her. "Yeah, that's me." Her locker shut with a slam, silencing a few people around her. For the first time, they both got a good look at each other.

Ben wasn't anything special when it came to looks really. He was handsome, she'd give him that... And there was something about those eyes, the way he held himself that seemed so utterly non-threatening. Like some sort of big stuffed animal she could hug and cuddle and love and-

_You can't afford to think like that, Em. _Any trace of a smile that may have been starting to light up her face faded immediately. A stone cold expression replaced it, a hardened expression, a look that would send the football team running for cover.

It was obvious now why Em got the dirty looks in homeroom, Ben thought. He didn't think it was bad but a lot of people would probably think her black hair, peircings and a fading black eye might make some people a little intimidated. In fact, he himself found himself a little more intimidated than he should be. Those hazel eyes that looked peircingly green never left his face, his eyes, as if she were searching him. Reading his every movement. It was a little unnerving but at the same time it fascinated him. The way she held herself said she was strong. Despite her size she was a strong, capable girl. That much was clear. It seemed a little contradictory; Her limbs were willowly and thin, and she looked like she didn't eat all that well. Maybe she was just thin like that, after all, her bones seemed to fit her overall appearance. Her cheekbones were sunken in and they looked like you could almost slice your hand open on them. Everything about this girl, about this Emily-Rose Andrews, was so different and Ben couldn't help but be fascinated by her.

"I noticed you weren't in homeroom," he explained, rocking back on his heels a little. "You okay? I mean, I was pretty sure McFauge was going to explode." Ben grinned and shrugged. "You got guts, Emily."

"It's Em," she spat back with her own bony shrug. "She pissed me off. not much else to it."

Ben raised his eyebrows a little, somewhere between impressed and amused. "Well I think you won over the whole baseball team there, darli-"

"Don't call me darling." Em's long-fingered hands balled into fists and her whole body tensed. She was practically bristling, looking ready to punch him if he made another wrong move.

"...Sorry," he mumbled, eyes lowered. Ben didn't exactly understand what the problem was with his pet name but if she didn't like it, well, he wasn't going to chance making her give up on him completely. Not that she was all that interested in him in the first place.

"What the fuck do you want anyways?" she asked, shouldering her bag and shooting dirty looks at the senior from this morning. "I don't really have time to talk."

Ben smiled smoothly, even though inside he was all aflutter. "I was um... I was wondering if you wanted to stick around until pre-season conditioning was over. It'll be about two hours but afterwards we could grab a burger at the MIss Issippi Diner. And I'm telling you, it'll be the best burger you ever eat. Promise." He started walking and was pretty happy when Em followed.

"Okay, cut the bullshit," Em finally rasped, running a hand through her hair. "Why are you being so nice to me? It's a little obnoxious."

"Because you, my dear, look like you need a friend," Ben said happily, shrugging again. "Besides, now you have a one man welcoming comity here. And you're new. It sucks being the new kid, I know."

Em rolled her eyes at him and started to walk away before turning him around and staring, but under all that cold steel he could see just a hint of sadness.

"You have no fucking idea." And with that, she was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

The locker rooms were a familiar place for Ben and he immediately dropped his things, changing quickly and waiting for Jeff and Rob. They were like the three musketeers, the three amigos, three peas in a pod. It was a little ridiculous sometimes but you never saw one of them alone at school unless of course they were chatting up girls.

"Hey Benny boy!" Jeff called out, Rob trailing behind, suffering from an untied shoe. Ben was pretty sure he'd see him fall on his face but there was so such luck. "I saw you chatting up that Em girl in the halls."

"She gives me the creeps," Rob added, shrugging off his hoodie.

Ben rolled his eyes and started to lace up his sneakers. "Really? I kind of like her," he mumbled, not looking up.

Jeff snorted. "Kind of? Oh please. You're following her around like a fucking lost puppy. You're head over heels, Braeden." He laughed and pulled on his workout shorts. "No offence, but I don't really see the appeal. Scares me a little, and then her freakout in class..."

"Guess Ben just wants to be dominated by a woman, huh?" Rob teased, waggling his eyebrows. "Especially in _bed._" Jeff let out a loud bark of a laugh, shaking his head.

Ben's cheeks flushed red but he shrugged them off, already prepared to shut them up. "Oh, shove it. I still haven't forgotten about you waking up with a stripper, wearing her thong, Jeff." Jeff's older brother's bachelor party had been... interesting enough. Of course Jeff had been in the sack with a stripper. Rob laughed when Jeff's face went bright red and he said nothing.

"And you almost pissed your pants when there was a clown at your little sister's birthday party last year," Ben said, nudging Rob and smirking. Rob made a face and bent down to tie his shoes. "My point exactly. Either way, I'm asking her out."

Jeff and Rob exanged a look. "Holy shit, Ben. You don't ask girls out. Yeah, you flirt with them but... We're a little concerned." Rob nodded in agreement. "She's just different then most'a the girls you flirt with."

Ben gave an indifferent shrug. "That's 'cause she _is_ different. You saw how she flipped on McFague. She's a freakin' ass kicker, that's for sure."

"She seems like trouble," Rob retorted, shrugging. "Don't get me wrong, we're happy you've got your eyes on the prize for once. But of all the girls you could pick..."

"Look, could you just give her a chance?" Ben said finally as coach stepped out of his stuffy office into the locker room which smelled of sweat, cologne, and teenage boys in general. "Please."

"Fine," they said in unison, falling into line with the rest of the team. None of them had time to talk about Ben's girl dilemma at this point- Practice was starting.

Em was camped out behind the bleachers. She'd discovered it earlier, after her little incident in AP History. It was a little dingy, a little dark, but it kept her out of the hot sun and gave her solitude. A few blackberry bushes were growing there as well, long forgotten by the staff and students and Battle Creek Highschool. If she was ever hungry she'd have something to nibble on. Em didn't get hungry much, though.

It didn't take long for her to decide she needed to be moving, rather than just sitting there. The track was open. Carefully, doing her best not to be seen, she took off at a jog and increased her pace to a steady sprint. She was pretty damn fast, her stride hardly graceful, but it was speedy. Running was something Em did a lot of.

"Hey there babe," a voice said from behind her. She stopped in her tracks. Apparently she'd been noticed.

Dick Johnson. No, that was really his name. The sweaty idiot loomed over her and smirked. Em could tell how full of himself he was. She guessed by the looks he got from the kids on the baseball team that he wasn't all that well liked, either.

"Fuck off," Em spat, poison in her voice. She knew that look. That look made her skin crawl. Her muscles went taut and she backed up a little, feeling more vulnerable with the sun shining in her eyes, making it hard to see.

"Don't be like that, honey," Dick cooed, his voice sickening to her. Before Em could do anything to get away he slipped a hand down behind her, squeezing her ass.

The next thing Dick saw was a fist fliying at him.

"YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Em shouted, punching him once, twice, three times in the face. "Who the hell do you think I am, huh? You think I'm some cheap slut who's gonna fuck you because you'll touch me?" A kick to each shin. "YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER FUCKING THING COMING!" A knee to the groin. "Don't you _dare _touch me again you DOUCHEBAG!" A kick to the stomach. Em leaned down and got right in his face, her voice sickeningly sweet, soft...

"Next time I'll do more than this," she promised, punching the side of his head and knocking him unconcious.

Ben hadn't really seen anything, hadn't noticed Dick creeping on Em. He'd been chatting up his coaches, discussing trying out for Varsity. So of course he didn't see the situation until Em started wailing on the kid and there were students trying to pry the small, thrashing, swearing girl off of Dick. Ben ducked into the sea of bodies and tugged Em away from the choas.

"What the hell, Em?" he said, glancing back at the sea of bodies. "What did he _do _to you?"

Em whipped around out of a knee jerk reaction and punched him square in the jaw. There was a tiny twinge of guilt that overcame her. "What did he do to me? You want to know what that bastard did to me? He started sweet talkin' me and grabbed my fucking ass." Her voice was sharp, like needles accompanied every syllable. "That's what he did."

She stalked away from Ben, crossing the field and fully intending on going back home. Home was the last place she wanted to be but... It was better than here. Maybe dad would be in a good. Just maybe.

Jack, the team captain, emerged from the locker rooms and took one look at Dick, barking orders. "Get him inside and cleaned up!" he shouted. "What the fuck happened to him?"

"Fell down the bleachers," was just about everyone's excuse, including Jeff and Rob. They'd watched the whole thing with wide eyes, and they were one of the first two to try to pry Em away. Once Jack was out of earshot Ben stepped forward, rubbing his jaw. He was laughing, actually _laughing _through the pain.

"Guys, guys, calm down! Dick just thought Em was a cheap piece of ass," he said with a smirk. "I'm guessing no practice?"

Everyone exchanged looks and shrugged. "Guess not," they murmured. Everyone was still stunned. Someone finally had the guts to put Dick in his place. Even if it was freak girl. From that moment on, Em the Ass-Kicker was the baseball team's hero. No one liked Dick anyways. He was a really, _really _bad pitcher and just an asshole in general. So the girl who beat the living shit out of him? Well, she was going to be their hero, whether she liked it or not.


	5. Chapter 5

"You're late coming home."

Em dropped her bag in the doorway. "A friend took me out to get a burger after school." She didn't look at him. Maybe if she didn't make eye contact, brushed it off as nothing, he wouldn't-

_Smack! _The strike of her father's hand across her face. "Did I _tell _you that was allowed?" Father Andrews growled out, hand gripping her neck.

Em gasped labouredly, trying to get as much air as she possibly could. She was used to this sort of treatment but it would never _not _hurt. She felt like a caged animal. White crept into the corners of her eyes as her oxygen supply slowly diminished.

"Answer me you flithy little bitch." His voice was laced with poison. Every word was utterly toxic.

"Y-You never s-said I couldn't," Em gasped out. She thought about fighting back, about hitting and kicking and punching and shreiking. But she knew better. She knew fighting would make things worse.

"Oh, don't get cheeky with me," her father said with a sickening laugh. He was _laughing. _He thought this was _funny, _how she stugged in his grasp How she squirmed and looked like a fish out of water, heaving for breath.

White spots blurred Em's vision when his fist met the side of her head. A searing pain in her eye. It was a Friday, it was the weekend, so he didn't have to be sneaky with where he was marking her. Where he was reminding his daughter of just how much raw power he held over her.

Em's father's grip tightened on her throat and she began to make little choked noises, squirming more. She thought she might get off easy this time but it wasn't going to happen.

Might as well fight back.

Em shrieked as best she could with the strangling hold on her neck and started to thrash about, trying to do anything to make him let go. Anything to make him _let her go. _That fight or flight instinct had kicked in and right now, she'd chosen flight. Adrenaline pumped through her system. She wanted to leave. She didn't _want _daddy to hurt her. She didn't want to feel like this. She didn't like being shoved up against the wall like this...

"WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT FIGHTING BACK?" he shouted. The shouting. It hurt Em's head, it made it absolutely _throb. _"If you're a good girl, maybe I won't make it hurt too much today."

Em curled up on herself, whimpering. "D-Daddy, _please,_" she tried, voice soft. That wasn't going to help at all, it seemed. He'd grabbed a cane and had it held at the ready. She flinched and braced herself for the repeated blows that left her sore, bruised, and bleeding. With a grunt he yanked her up and shoved her against the wall again. "Now go be a good girl and cook dinner. I'm going to clean the church." Footstepps thudded softly against the carpet. And then he was gone.

She tried to stand. She wanted to stand but she couldn't. Em remained doubled over in pain, terrified. Utterly petrified by fear. It all hurt. It ached, it stung, it bled, it _hurt. _Why did he have to hurt her? She didn't understand. Maybe he was right. Many times she'd wondered if he really was right, about her being a slut. A whore. A disgrace. The reason mom left. A bastad child.

Em's walking didn't last long. As soon as she made it to the kitchen her hands clutched the counter until her knuckles were white and she craned her neck over the sink, retching violently and emtying her stomach. There wasn't much in there to empty but her stomach continued to turn inside out over and over again. After about half an hour she was left sweating, pale, and trembling.

And she still had yet to make dinner.


	6. Chapter 6

Monday morning dawned and it became clear that the day was going to be bleary. Rain clouds darkened the sky and they looked about ready to break into a downpour at any moment. Em walked- No, scratch that, she limped to school, pushing the events of that weekend out of her mind. She lit up a cigarette on the way taking deep drags from it and letting the nicotine settle in her system.

Taking one look at the looming school building, she felt her heart stop. She couldn't do this. Not today. After freezing up for a moment she made a mad dash towards the bleachers. She needed some time to herself. Some time to sort through everything that had happened, to get everything properly dealt with in her mind. Properly locked up.

Em ducked behind the bleachers and pulled her knees up to her chest, breathing deeply. Rain had started to pour and muddy the grass but she found shelter under the looming metal structures. She stilll ahced terribly, but... The injuries weren't the worst of it. The bruising, the physical hurt was nothing. It was how utterly disgusting, how worthless she felt.

"...Em?"

Her head shot up. Peircing eyes focused on the figure in front of her. Ben Braeden.

"What do you want?" she snapped defensively, fighting back the tears that were about to pour down her cheeks.

"I saw you running," Ben said, sitting cross-legged across from her. "You okay?"

"I'm fucking fantastic," Em spat, eyes fixed on him. His brown curls were plastered to his face thanks to the downpour that had begun to water Battle Creek.

Ben frowned and quirked an eyebrow at him. "You don't look fucking fantastic," he muttered, shrugging. "Want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about." Slender fingers plucked at the overgrown strands of grass that hadn't been mowed. The rain beat a steady pattern on the bleachers, echoing in both of their ears.

"...Are you sure?"

Em hesiatated. Those big brown eyes of his, they practically _screamed _trust me. He was smiling, but it wasn't fake. It was the smile of someone who genuinely wanted to help and she just didn't understand. She didn't understand why he was being so kind to her. It was weird, and she didn't trust it. She didn't _like _it.

"Positive," she said, a little less hostile than she had been. She watched with a trace of amusement as Ben's eyes lit up. This boy was different. Oddly enough. It just then occured to her that she hadn't worn a coat and was shivering against the icy Michigan winds.

Ben took note of this and furrowed his brow. "You're shivering," he concluded, already shrugging off his jacket for her. Em watched him carefully as he draped the coat around her shoulders. It was warm and smelled like cologne and dog slobber.

"Sorry, it's kind of smelly, my dog likes to curl up in it," he said with a sheepish grin.

"You have a dog?" Em asked in her soft rasp,

"Yeah, his name is Elvis. He likes to chew things. And slobber all over _everything. _Yesterday he got at my mom's shoes and she was pretty mad at him. But his puppy dog eyes are pretty damn good, so she forgave the poor pup."

Em's lips curved up into the faintest trace of a smile. "Sounds like the dog I had when I was little, Jake."

Ben's grin got even wider when he saw Em was smiling... Well, sort of, anyways. "You had a dog? What kind was he?"

"Basset Hound," she murmured. She'd almost forgotten about Jake. "He had the biggest floppy ears. When I was really little I'd wear them as hats. He was the most mellow dog, y'know? I used to try to ride him like a pony and he'd just sit there until I finished. He used to curl up with me too when I slept and-"

Ben had been watching her with a soft smile, thinking how adorable she looked when she was rambling. Em's cheeks flushed faintly, tinting her face a soft pink. She bit her bottom lip and ran her tongue over her lip peircing. "Sorry," she muttered, fingers tangling into the grass again.

"No, it's fine, it's... Kind of cute, actually." The glare he recieved after that comment wasn't quite a death glare, but more like a 'I'm going to punch you in the face' glare. Ben smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"...Don't call me cute. Please." For once, it wasn't a demand. The please wasn't cold. It was... Sort of like she was begging him, pleading him not to without really pleading. Ben lowered his eyes and nodded.

"Sorry. But... I mean, your dog seemed pretty cool. What happened to it?"

"Our neighbor shot it."

Ben's mouth fell open and he had to resist the urge to laugh at loud at Em's sudden frankness. Her tone of voice was so flat when she told him that, it seemed something like a joke. She glanced up at him and quirked an eyebrow.

"What? It's true!"

He just rolled her eyes at her and grinned.

They spent a few minutes just sitting there in silence with Em lost in her thoughts abd Ben watching her think. Inside Em's mind was a dark place. She tried to sort through the events of her weekend. Tried to discern what had really happened and what had been an element of stress nightmares. What he had really done to her and what she was terrified he was really doing.

It wasn't until Ben's hand was placed on her shoulder that she realized she was crying.

"Em? Em, what's wrong?" he said worriedly, eyes full of concern.

Em froze up. Flinched away from his touch. And then she did something she never thought she'd do.

"Hug me," she croaked out.

"...What?" Ben said incredilously, not expecting to ever hear those words from her.

"I said just hug me!" Em snapped, tears hot against her cheeks. Ben's strong arms wrapped around her small, shaking, bruised, battered frame and pulled her close to him. She squirmed in his grasp and fought for a few breif minutes, not used to the situatino. And then she calmed. Her eyes fluttered closed and she took a few deep breaths, her own arms snaking around him.

"I've got you," Ben murmured.

"I know."


	7. Chapter 7

Em's hands were shaking. She couldn't go to school. She couldn't face him. Not after she'd shown so much weakness. Not after she'd...

_You didn't kiss him, _she reminded herself. _Pretend it didn't happen. Because it __**didn't. **__You were upset. He hugged you. That was all. It didn't happen. _

She couldn't allow herself to admit to it. If she admitted to it she'd admit to the feelings that were beginning to blossom for this boy and that _couldn't happen. _She couldn't let someone else have any sort of control over her. She had reliquished enough control as it were. And now? Now she couldn't afford to slip up like she had.

_It didn't happen. _

Em slipped out of the house and into the chill morning air as swiftly and as quietly as a soft summer breeze. Today she was dressed in black fishnet stockings under black denim shorts that hit her mid-thigh. They were decorated with safety pins up the side seams. A lose charcoal grey tanktop with a faded skull screen-printed onto the back was topped off with her usual leather jacket. Long black boots reached up to her knees, buckled and laced expertly. Her eyes were thickly lined and shadowed a dark black. Peircings were as present as ever. Little did anyone know under the mask she painted on daily, under that expertly applied concealer and foundation were bruises of all kinds, some of them faded and yellow, some of them fresh and a violent purple. Metal bangles hung on her wrists like shackles.

The walk to school was quiet as always. A cigarette was gracefully balanced between her long bony fingers and its smoke swirled into the misty air. She brought the tobacco rolled up in paper to her lips and took a long hit of it, letting the nicotine settle in her system and calm her nerves.

_It didn't happen._

Cigarette ashed out and books in hand, Em moved soundlessly into Homeroom. She felt a pair of eyes on her immediately. They could only belong to one person and that was the one person she wanted to evade. She took her seat and stared at her notebook, making little scribble drawings with a pen that was running out of ink.

Ben's eyes lingered on her.

She didn't say a word. She didn't have to. All it took was a look. One single, simple look that spoke volumes.

_ Fuck off._

If a heart could shatter, Ben's did. In that moment every hope he'd had about her had just crumbled into a million peices. He stared, incredilous, confused... Heartbroken. The bell rang. Ben still sat there. It took a sharp jab in the ribs from Jeff and a yank on the arm from Rob to snap him out of his stupor.

"Man, you okay?" Jeff asked, snapping his fingers in front of Ben's eyes.

Ben shrugged. "I'm fine."

Rob gave him a look. "You don't look fine. C'mon, we've got Math. Then free period. After that you better start talking."

Jeff nodded his approval and all three of them walked to first period, one of them still in a daze. Ben felt a pang of worry when he saw that Em wasn't in class, but at the same time he was almost relieved. It would give him more time to recover, more time to distract himself with schoolwork. More time to debate confronting the elusive Em Andrews.


	8. Chapter 8

"What the _fuck _was that about?"

Ben had caught Em on her way to the girl's bathroom, to have a smoke. She held her ground easily, as always. "I don't know what you're talking about."

His mouth fell open. Was she really doing this to him? Why was she doing this to him? It didn't make any sense. It seemed to him that there were a million faces to Em Andrews and he'd only seen three. God knows how many there really were.

It scared him, and intruiged him at the same time. And it irritated him to no end.

"You know what I'm talking about," Ben said, hurt heavy in his voice.

Em stared at him with eyes as cold as ice. "I was upset. You hugged me and I hugg-"

"You _kissed _me!" he shouted quietly, eyes wide. "You kissed me, Em. And I kissed back. And I held you while you _cried. _Does that ring a bell?"

"I wasn't crying... And I didn't kiss you," Em murmured. Her plan was unravelling, and fast. In the back of her mind she was scolding herself for coming to school today. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Ben took a deep, irritated breath and ran a hand through his mussed curls. "...I don't get it! I... You don't let anyone in, do you?" He moved towards her. She moved back. "You don't let anyone know what's going on in that head of yours, don't tell anyone about yourself. But I wish you would. I really, really wish you would. Because I want to help. I don't know what's going on but there's something you're hiding, isn't there?"

Em took another step back, boots scuffing the floor. "If I'm hiding something do you really think I'd tell you?" was her effortless reply in her honey sweet tongue laced with poison.

"...Please, Em. Please, just... Talk to me. Please."

"Why should I?"

"I- I can't give you a good reason, honestly. But when you feel like talking? You know where to find me."

Em watched Ben walk away, watched his easy stride. She wanted to tell herself she didn't care. That she didn't care about the boy who had scrambled into her life and was now walking out of it at the drop of a hat.

Why did she care?

With a heavy silence she slipped into the girl's bathroom and climbed up into the little nook by the windowsill, fumbling with her pack of cigarettes. Finally she plucked one from the carton and lit it, inhaling the smoke like it was pure oxygen.

_You don't love him. You don't even like him. Love isn't real. Don't forget that. _

Em's thoughts were replaced by her father's harsh words.

_You're mine. All mine, you filthy slut. You don't belong to anyone but me. You don't belong to yourself. No one else can have you. _

Groaning, she closed her eyes and stretched out her legs a little. There wasn't much space in the little nook but it was something. It was enough, anyways. Em needed somewhere to hide. She needed to feel like she was completely cut off from the rest of the world. Cut off from everyone. It was days like these when she wished her life wasn't such a mess.

Tonight, she had a plan. She needed to blow off steam in the worst way. Tonight she'd take her anger out on a demon, or some pissed off spirit. Maybe what she needed was a quick salt and burn, to take the edge off of things.

Granted it might be difficult to sneak out of the house because dad was having company over, but usually when there was company Em was instructed to either stay in her room and keep out of the way, or to take out all her peircings, put on a nice dress and act like the model little girl.

Lately, he'd been opting to keep her out of sight.

_Excellent, _Em thought. After ashing out her cigarette she jumped down and winced at the sudden weight on her injured right leg. That didn't matter. She was going hunting.

Anything to take her mind off of Ben fucking Braeden.


	9. Chapter 9

Em was out of school the next day. And the day after that. After five days of absence Ben started to get worried, started to get freaked out. He was trying to make himself hate her for what she did to him. Trying to make himself forget about her.

That wasn't working all that well, and Rob and Jeff were the ones who tried of course to pull Ben back into reality. As much as they adored Em for beating up Dick, they didn't want to see their best guy in a ridiculous love-sick slump.

"Dude," Jeff said, slamming his gym locker and sitting down on the smooth wooden bench covered in pencil graffiti. "You gotta get over this. Maybe she caught a tropical disease or something."

Ben quirked an eyebrow at him. "That's not helping. Seriously."

Rob rolled his eyes. "You should just forget about her. I mean, she won't even admit that she kissed you. That's not cool."

"Rob, forget about Julia," he retorted.

"What the hell does that have to do with this?"

"You couldn't forget her, could you? Yeah, you're still dating her but come on. It's no different."

Rob gave a frustrated shrug. "Whatever you say man."

Jeff sighed. "As long as this doesn't affect your game, go ahead and chase after her."

During practice, Ben was about as useful as a sack of potatoes. They ended up sending him into the lockers because he was so out of it. Thank God it was a Friday so he could go home and work on homework. Maybe that'd be a real distraction.

By 9 PM that night he'd finished all his homework. By 10 PM he'd taken a bath and brushed his teeth. By midnight, he was out cold in his bed.

At 2:38 AM, he was woken up by his phone.

He'd always remember the time. The exact moment when his heart dropped like a lead weight from his chest.

At first he'd thought the text was nothing odd, nothing out of the ordinary. Just an odd text from Jeff or Rob or Julia or Jack or anyone but Em. But when her name popped up on the screen his heart stopped.

_**From Em:**_

_** help me. im on w. timber street. hurts.**_

__Once his mind started working the conversation he'd had with Jeff flashed through his mind.

"Julia just sent me a text. She knows the signs, ever since Jess dated that bastard Andy. And you should've seen the look on her face when you pulled her away from that body pile. I thought she was gonna bolt right then and there..."

"What are you saying?"

"Well, if Jules thinks Mr. Andrews is beating her around, it can't hurt to ask her."

"...Jeff, if I ask her about anything like that she'll bite my head off. Especially if it's true."

"It's worth a shot."

In about ten seconds flat Ben had pulled on a pair of jeans and a shirt, grabbing his keys and jogging out the door. The engine in his old beat up truck didn't seem to start up fast enough and everyone around him seemed to be moving at a snail's pace.

The problem was, Ben had no idea where the hell West Timber street was. After fifteen minutes of frantic driving he found it. Em was huddled under a tree, shaking like a leaf.

"Which house is yours?" Ben demanded angrily, slamming his car door and storming over to her. "I'M GONNA RIP HIS FUCKING LUNGS OUT."

Em stared at him with wide hazel eyes. Her face was covered in bruises and blood, both dried and still trickling from open wounds. Her nose was broken. One eye was almost swollen shut. Her ribs screamed in pain, and so did her right leg. It was getting harder to breathe. "H-h-hurts, Ben," she croaked out, voice weak. Weak and broken and God... This was Em. This was Em Andrews. This was Em. Em was supposed to be all energy and steely glare and fire and bite and now she was reduced to a shaking mess. A shaking, trembling...

_Oh God, she's bleeding._

Oh fuck. Now he was breathing heavily, in a panic. She was bleeding, her face was covered in blood and bruises... She was curled up on herself and it was obvious by the way her leg twisted she was hurt badly. Her breathing was labored and oh God, she was obviously in pain. Rage turned to fear.

"Em, fuck, Em, are you okay?" he said worriedly. She needed a doctor. "I don't care if you hate me for this but I'm taking you to the hospital." He made his voice even out. Em needed someone calm right now.

Em whimpered as she was scooped up into his arms. Pain seared through her whole body. "Ben!" she nearly shrieked. His heart shattered.

"Sh, Em, I've got you." He set her down carefully in the passenger seat and closed the door, hopping back into the truck and skipping the seatbelt. He floored the gas and sped off. Fuck the speed limits. This was a matter of life and death.


	10. Chapter 10

Guilt. That was what gnawed away at Ben. Guilt. Worry. Anger.

If only he'd listened to Jeff. Did what he said. Maybe Em wouldn't be in this mess. Maybe she'd be away from that dad of hers. Away from the hospital. Far, far away from all this crap. Was it even her dad? Maybe it was her mom. But she'd never mentioned either of them.

The drive had been agonizing for both of them. Em had been in terrible pain the whole time and Ben had been a nervous wreck. And then they got pulled over by a cop. Of all the times... Thankfully Ben was good at smooth talking them. He'd told him his girlfriend got hurt by her dad and she needed to get to the hospital ASAP. His girlfriend... If she could even remember that Em would strangle him when she woke up.

Hours and hours. All this waiting for what? He had no news and was sure that he'd rip someone's head off pretty soon. The cop was getting the statements ready and Ben had never felt so completely alone.

After pacing the waiting room like a caged lion for God only knows how long, one of the nurses called him back to see Em.

He took a few feeble steps into the room and stopped dead. Em lay on her hospital bed, hooked up to just about every machine known to man. She looked so weak, so fragile, like the smallest touch would snap her in half. An IV dripped steadily and in her thin, papery hospital gown he could see just how skinny and bony she really was. She looked like a girl starved, and her tiny frame was covered in bandages and bruises. So many stitches... And to top it all off she was breathing with the help of an oxygen mask. She was a far cry from the strong, fiesty girl he'd first met.

He was on the verge of tears. Scratch that, a few hot tears did escape, slipping down his cheeks and splashing on the tile floor. His phone rang but it sounded far away. The nurse's full list of injuries sounded more like a monotone drone than actual words. How could this happen. How could someone do this to their own child... He didn't understand. He didn't want to understand.

Soundlessly he slipped into the plastic chair at Em's bedside and took her small hand in his. He gave it a single, gentle squeeze, as if he were handling a porcelain doll and said a few silent prayers. "Please be okay," he murmured with a raspy voice. "Please, Em. Please be okay. I need you to be okay..."

Why wasn't she waking up? He hadn't picked up anything about a concussion in the various hospital chatter that had gone on. The sedatives should have worn off... Maybe she was just tired. Exhausted. Maybe... No, she had to be. She had to be okay. He found himself checking her pulse constantly, making sure he could still see the steady rise and fall of her chest. He couldn't lose her.

The nurses tried to get him to sleep, tried to bring a cot in for him, even. When Lisa showed up in a panic, he still wasn't snapped out of his daze. He didn't even have the heart to relay the whole situation to her. He stayed at Em's bedside, praying for a miracle. Praying that she'd wake up and praying that she'd be okay.


	11. Chapter 11

Em's world was dark. Her sleep was dreamless, a medicated fog.

_Am I dead? I think I'm dead. I'm better off dead._

When the bright flourescant lights of the hospital began to creep into Em's hazy vision, she knew she wasn't dead. The smell of disinfectant which was far too clean filled her nostrils and all that once she was filled with panic. She would have sat up, but she was in too much pain. Was it pain? She didn't know. She couldn't tell. The next thing she heard was a loud beeping sound from her heart monitor, the scuttle of nurses. She felt a pinch in her arm and then there was darkness.

More sedatives. They'd given her more sedatives. What was that all about? Ben thought she was finally going to wake up. She'd begun to stir, but then again the look of panic on her face was shocking. Then her heart rate went nuts and he couldn't take much more of this. Em, _his _Em... Oh God, why was he calling her that? She wasn't even his. He wanted her to be his. No, she was his. In his mind, she was. She was his Em.

Lisa remained in the room by Ben's side all morning. She'd slept, of course, but seeing her baby boy in so much pain was like being stabbed in the heart for her. It truly was. She knew he was infatuated with this Em girl, but this was beyond what she'd thought. He was sticking by her side without sleep, just about as loyal as a good husband is to a wife. It was like they'd been through years together in the span of a couple weeks.

Ben continued to keep watch at her side. Lisa hated to leave but Ben insisted that she go to work instead of staying with him. He insisted he could handle it. By lunch time he was alone again; Just him, Em, and the boatload of machines. He just wished this was all a bad joke, some nightmare that he could wake up from. If only...

Out of the sedated haze came light again. Light.

_Why aren't I dead?_

Em didn't understand. But she knew if she panicked they'd give her medicine again. Her eyes opened slowly and she glanced around the room, saw Ben, who was praying under his breath. There was a subtle ringing in her ears. Was it pain that was throbbing in her whole body? Pain? Maybe it was pain, a very dull ache, but there was that drugged haze to it that just confused her even more.

Wait.

Ben was there. At her bedside. The last thing she could remember was running from her house as fast as she could with a broken leg. Her chest feeling all too heavy and breath seeming just out of her reach. Then the rumble of a car and then... she could 't remember anything else. Her eyes opened completely and she took a sharp breath, tightening her hand around Ben's, squeezing tightly. Holding onto him like an anchor in the middle of a storm.

Ben's eyes flew open when he felt the pressure on his hand.

_She's awake._

His heart lept and he stared at her, wide eyed, before containing himself and squeezing her hand back ever so gently. "...Hey you," he said, voice heavy with exhaustion. "How are you feeling?"

Em reached and pulled her oxygen mask off. "Like shit," she rasped, before realizing she still couldn't catch her breath and pulling the thing back on desperately. After a few hits she tugged it off again to speak. "What the hell happened?"

"You don't remember?" Ben said incredilously. Em rolled her eyes, pulling off the mask momentarily. "Last thing I remember was a car pulling up to me on the street and that was it."

Ben blinked a few times. Of course she remembered what her dad had done to her. Of course. He wasn't about to tell her that one of the police officers had told him her father had skipped town like some kind of playground bully. Just thinking about it twisted his gut in knots.

"Well, you texted me," he explained, keeping his voice calm and even. "I came to get you, and brought you here to the hospital. You almost died." Ben's voice caught in his throat and he swallowed thickly. "But you're alive now. You're alive and you're safe and I'm never gonna let him hurt you again, Em. I'm not gonna let you get hurt ever again okay?" He closed his eyes and sighed. "Never again."

Em's eyes fluttered closed and she let the sound of his voice soothe her to sleep. She wasn't alone. She didn't feel safe, but maybe she was. Maybe she was going to be happy after all. Em's world was dark. Her sleep was dreamless, a medicated fog.


	12. Chapter 12

Ben stayed by Em's side for the next two days. Saturday and Sunday were spent in the hospital with her, though most of the time she was sedated. The nurses would bring him coffee and meals from the cafeteria and he'd work on homework.

When Monday came along Lisa had a hard time getting him out of bed. It was his first mnnight of real, straight through sleep and it was like his bed was telling him not to leave. And in first period he got pounced by Jeff and Rob, who were rambling on about how Jack told them that his dad said Em was in the hospital and that a certain Ben Braeden had saved his life.

"What the hell happened?" Rob asked first. "Is she okay?"

Ben gave a dismissive shrug and scribbled on his worksheet.

Jeff said nothing; His suspicions had been more than confirmed. That strained look on Ben's face, the exhaustion said he was worried, and there was that underlying guilt; Not to forget the anger. He'd been right.

"Ben, c'mon. Jack said she was really bad when you brought her in."

"Would you just shut the fuck up about it?" Ben finally snapped. "I don't want to talk about it. She almost died, okay? I'm done talking about it for now."

"I'll have Nonna make her something sweet," Jeff said idly.

"Can I visit her?" Rob asked. Ben glanced over at him, irritated.

"Her dad just beat the living _shit _out of her, Rob! Do you really think she wants _visitors!_"

Silence fell over the group and a few people stared.

"...Sorry," Ben muttered, thankful for the timely ringing of the class bell.

The whole day was a blur. A soundless blur that he would hardly remember the next day. Just before he left to walk over to the hospital Jack reeled him into a quick conversation. Ben was _not _pleased. He just wanted to get to the hospital already to see how Em was doing. They were doing the psych evaluation today and he knew it wasn't going to end well somehow.

"Dad told m-"

Ben cut him off. "Don't you breathe a word about this whole thing to anyone, you hear me? It's bad enough you told Jeff and Rob. I'm sorry, but if you tell anyone else I'm going to rip your balls off personally."

Jack just stared at him, before throwing his hands up in defeat. "Jeeze, okay, okay... Sorry. I didn't realize."

"Just don't, okay?" And with that he was walking off towards the hospital, a hand brushed angrily through his mussed curls. He just wanted Em to be better. That's all he wanted. Maybe then he could rest.

Upon arriving at the hospital one of the older nurses with greying brown hair smiled at him and handed him a coffee. "She's awake," she said to him. Ben nodded his thanks and walked towards Em's room. They'd replaced the full oxygen mask with the small tubes in her nose that connected to an oxygen tank. She could still breathe though, which was a plus. It just helped her get more oxygen in her system.

To his surprise she was propped up slightly, twisting away at a rubix cube furiously. Eventually she just got frustrated and tossed it aside, shrugging irritatedly. Ben could tell by the look on her face that the evaluation hadn't gone well.

"Hey, Em," he said softly, so as not to startle her. Ben pulled up a chair next to her bed and gave a faint smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I hate that therapist," Em spat, wrapping her arms around herself. "I hate him."

"Did you even say a word to him?"

"...No."

"So you just stared at him?"

"Basically."

They both sat in silence, Em staring intently at the wall and chewing on her bottom lip which was starting to get red and sore. "I don't want to talk about it," she said finally.

"That's fine."

Ben started to fish around in his backpack and pulled out a stack of books. "I brought you something to read." More like enough reading to last her a month. He piled the books at the foot of her bed and handed one to her. Curiously, Em started to flip through it, reading a few senteces experimentally.

The book fell from her hands with a thud and she'd started shaking.

The heart rate moniter started going off like crazy again and Ben grabbed the book from her, trying to figure out what could have set this off. There was so much beeping and God, he felt horrible about this.

...Of course.

He'd handed her his Religion and Philosiphy text book on accident.

Within minutes they had her sedated and Ben's hopes of having a slightly normal day with her, working through things, were dashed.


	13. Chapter 13

Days and days passed. No progress on Em's part, really, except for her body starting to heal. The emotional wounds were as fresh as ever, but Ben had been told not to expect much progress for awhile. After all... Seventeen years of that treatment? It was a miracle Em was still functioning.

If you could call her current state functioning. Em was in bed, her hair in two little braids on each side to keep it out of her face. Her cheeks were still sunken in and she was still covered in bruises, but her fingers were working nimbly right now. Ben had the brilliant idea to get her sets of those little pocket puzzles, the ones that you'd get for Christmas or Easter and then give up on after about five minutes of trying.

They'd given something for her to do. Given her brain something to focus on. When she wasn't sedated or eating the little food she did eat, she'd do those puzzles. Every day Ben would bring her a new one and help her glue the puzzle so that it would stay put together. His favorite so far was probably the tree made of little wooden curves she'd laced together. It looked impossible but somehow she'd managed it. Now as he sat working on his AP History homework he'd occasionally glance up at Em, who was now piecing together a winding snake.

He couldn't help but smile. At least she looked coherent again. She looked human. She still didn't look exactly like herself, but she was getting there. It was strange, seeing her without all the piercings and heavy makeup. She was strikingly intruiging before but seeing her all fresh faced made him realize she was actually very pretty. Em had a very feminine face when it came down to it. Her hair was a little curly, he could tell. It was like a whole different person.

"Finished another one," Em said softly, voice hardly audible unless you were actually listening for it. Ben looked up and smiled when she held the snake out towards him.

"Awesome," he said with a grin. "You want another one to work on or do you want to go to sleep?"

Em thought for a moment, and before she could stop herself the words were tumbling out. "I want a hug," she murmured.

Ben looked surprised. She'd been pretty jumpy and completely adverse to almost any kind of touching. Affection was something foreign to her. "...Are you sure?"

"I want to try."

He nodded and started to move towards her slowly. "Tell me if this isn't okay, tell me if you need me to stop."

Em took a deep breath and nodded, stretching out her arms to welcome his body against hers gently. Ben held the now-frail girl in his arms like she'd fall apart at any moment, and kept his arms loose so she could get away if she wanted to. "This okay?"

"...It's weird," she said with a raspy laugh. Ben rolled his eyes.

"A good kind of weird or a bad kind of weird?" he asked, keeping his voice gentle.

"...A good kind, I think."

Ben laughed and pulled her a little closer. Em started to squirm a little and he pulled back finally, his heart racing. Em's mind was reeling. Touching was bad. Touching was always bad but Ben had just held her close and hugged her and nothing bad happened.

...He wasn't going to hurt her.

In that moment, something clicked. Em looked up at Ben, looked up at that curly-haired, brown-eyed puppy dog of a boy and realized in that moment he was good. He was okay. He wasn't going to hurt her.

The last time she'd felt something like that... She couldn't remember the last time she felt something like that to be honest.

"You're not gonna hurt me," Em said, almost to herself.

Ben blinked and shook his head. "No, I'm not going to hurt you, Em. Promise. Cross my hair and hope to die. Or at the very least go comatose."

Em rolled her eyes. "Thanks," she mumbled. "Good, I don't want you to die. Can I sleep now?"

"I'll be here when you wake up."

"...Cross your heart and hope to go comatose?"

"Cross my heart and hope to go comatose," he said with a soft chuckle, switching off the lights.


End file.
